Excessive force lawsuit filed following Fermilab shooting

A Cicero teenager filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday alleging that a West Chicago police officer used excessive force earlier this month when he fired on a car filled with unarmed young people and struck the teen.

The suit was filed by Maria Ruiz on behalf of her son, Juan Carlos Ruiz, 17, and by the five other people who were with him during the Feb. 18 incident, which ended with the shooting on the grounds of the nearby Fermilab in Batavia. The suit was filed against the unnamed officer and the City of West Chicago.

“This case is a situation where the officer was obviously involved in some sort of road rage when he took his actions,” Richard Dvorak, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said Tuesday.

According to the suit, Ruiz and his friends, who ranged in age from 17 to their middle 20s, were driving in West Chicago – Dvoark said they were coming home from a party -- when their green Honda was sideswiped by a black Jeep being driven by the officer on Illinois Route 59.

The officer, who authorities said was not on duty, then chased the partygoers to the Fermilab grounds. It was there, according to the DuPage County Sheriff’s police, the officer exited his vehicle and shot at the car.

One of the bullets came through the Honda’s trunk and struck Ruiz, who was in the back seat, the suit said. He was the only vehicle occupant who was physically injured, the suit said.

Ruiz was transported to a local hospital and initially listed in critical condition, though he has since been discharged and is recovering at home, Dvorak said.

Dvorak said the young people did not pose any threat to the officer, and were in fact driving away from him when the shooting took place.

The City of West Chicago, via spokesperson Rosemary Mackey, declined to comment on the suit.

The DuPage County sheriff’s investigation into the incident is ongoing, and the federal suit won’t affect that investigation, Paul Darrah, a spokesman for DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin, said Tuesday. To date, there have been no charges filed in connection with the shooting.

The officer has not yet been identified by authorities investigating the shooting.